Believing Prayer

Andrew Murray

Description

Believing Prayer combines two of Andrew Murray's short studies on prayer, originally titled Have Faith in God and In My Name. This updated volume brings spiritual truth and profound insight to a new generation of readers while staying true to Murray's classic simplicity and original message.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441261786
• Langue: English

Extrait

Books by Andrew Murray
Abiding in Christ
Absolute Surrender
Believing Prayer
The Blood of Christ
Divine Healing
The Fullness of the Spirit
Humility
A Life of Obedience
Living a Prayerful Life
The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer
The Path to Holiness
Teach Me to Pray
Believing Prayer
Andrew Murray
© 1980, 2004 by Bethany House Publishers
Originally published under the titles Have Faith in God and In My Name as two separate books.
Published by Bethany House in 1980 under the title The Secret of Believing Prayer .
The 2004 edition has been revised and updated for today’s reader.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Ebook edition created 2012
Bethany House Publishers is a Division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopying, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Eric Walljasper
eISBN 978-1-4412-6178-6
ANDREW MURRAY was born in South Africa in 1828. After receiving his education in Scotland and Holland, he returned to South Africa and spent many years there as a missionary pastor. He was a staunch advocate of biblical Christianity, and is best known for his many devotional books. He and his wife, Emma, raised eight children.
Contents
Cover
Books by Andrew Murray
Title Page
Copyright
About the Author
1. The Secret of Believing Prayer
2. The Cure for Unbelief
3. The Relationship of Prayer and Love
4. The Power of United Prayer
5. The Power of Persevering Prayer
6. The All-Prevailing Prayer
7. The Holy Spirit and Prayer
8. Christ the Intercessor
Back Cover
Chapter 1
The Secret of Believing Prayer

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:22–24
The most wonderful promises in all of Scripture are those regarding answers to prayer. To many, such promises have raised the question, How can I ever attain the faith that knows that it receives all it asks?
It is this very question our Lord would answer today. When He gave the above promise to His disciples (vv. 23–24), He first pointed out where faith in the answer to prayer comes from and where it finds its strength: “Have faith in God” (v. 22). This command precedes the promise of answered prayer.
The power to believe a promise depends entirely on our faith in the one who promises. Trust in a person creates trust in his word. It is only when we enjoy a personal loving relationship with God himself that our whole being is opened up to the mighty influence of His holy presence and the capacity will be developed in us for believing that He gives whatever we ask.
The connection between faith in God and faith in His promises will become clear when we think about what faith really is. It is often compared to the hand or the mouth by which we take and appropriate what is offered to us. Faith is also the ear by which we hear what is promised, the eye by which we see what is offered. The power to take hold of something depends on this. I must hear the person who gives the promise the very tone of his voice gives me courage to believe. I must see him in the light of his eye and his countenance, all fear passes away. The value of the promise depends on the promiser; my knowledge of the promiser’s character and dependability creates faith in his promise.
For this reason, Jesus, when He gave that wonderful prayer-promise in Mark, first said, “Have faith in God.” In other words, open your eyes to the living God, gaze on Him, and see Him who is invisible. Through my eyes I yield myself to the influence of what is before me; I allow it to enter my mind, to exert its influence and leave its impression on my heart. So believing God is simply looking to who He is, basking in His presence, yielding my whole being to take in the full impression of who He is, opening my soul to receive His love.
Yes, faith is the eye to which God reveals himself. Through faith, the light of His presence and the workings of His mighty power stream into the soul. As that which I see and behold lives in me, so by faith God lives in me.
Faith is also the ear through which the voice of God is heard and communication with Him is maintained. Through the Holy Spirit the Father speaks to us the Spirit is the living voice; the Son is the Word, the substance of what God says. The child of God needs the voice from heaven to teach him what to say and do, just as it taught Jesus. A believing heart and an ear opened toward God will hear Him speak.
The words of God will not only be the words of His Book, but proceeding from His mouth, words of spirit and truth, life and power. They will produce in deed and experience what would otherwise only be thoughts. Through an opened ear the soul tarries under the influence of the life and power of God himself. As the words I hear enter my mind and work their influence, so through faith God enters my heart and works His influence there.
When faith is in full exercise as eye and ear, the faculty of the soul by which we see and hear God, it will be able to exercise its full power as hand and mouth to appropriate God and His blessings. The power of reception will depend entirely on the power of our spiritual perception. For this reason Jesus said, “Have faith in God.”
Faith is simply surrender: yielding ourselves to the impression of the words we hear. By faith we yield ourselves to the living God. His glory and love fill our hearts and have control over our lives. Faith is fellowship: it is giving ourselves over to the influence of a friend who makes a promise and in that way we become linked to that friend. When we enter into this living fellowship with God himself, in the faith that sees and hears Him, it becomes natural to believe His promises regarding prayer. Faith in the promise is the fruit of faith in the Promiser; the prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith.
In this way, the faith that prays effectually is a gift of God. Not as something that He bestows or infuses but as the blessed disposition or habit of soul that is wrought in a life of communion with Him. Surely for one who knows his Father well and lives in constant close fellowship with Him, it is a simple thing to believe the promise that He will do the will of His child.
Because many of God’s children do not understand this connection between the life of faith and the prayer of faith, their experience of the power of prayer is very limited. When they desire to obtain an answer from God, they fix their whole heart upon the promise and try their utmost to grasp it in faith. When they do not succeed, they give up hope; the promise is true, but it is beyond their power to take hold of it. Listen to the lesson Jesus teaches us: “Have faith in God” the living God. Let faith look to God more than the thing promised; His love, His power, His living presence will awaken and work out real faith.
To one who asks for the means to gain strength in his arms and hands, a physician would say that his whole body must be built up and strengthened. So the cure for weak faith is found in the building up of one’s whole spiritual life by communing with God. Learn to believe God, to take hold of Him, to let Him take possession of your life; then it will be easy to take hold of the promise.